May 2, 2003
- Numbers did ya know in 34 career Cup starts at Richmond #15-Michael Waltrip has NO top 10’s and his best finish is 12th. Four (4) is the number of charged provisional starting positions used in the season’s first 10 races by the #4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports and #49 BAM Racing teams. Those teams have only one provisional available until after they attempt to qualify for the 16th race of the season, at Infineon Raceway. 7 — The number of different Bud Pole Award winners in the last seven races at Richmond. 16 — The number of Winston Cup races at Richmond won from the pole position. 93 — The number of NASCAR point races, including three Convertible Division events, held at Richmond since 1953.(see many more ‘numbers’ atNASCAR.com)(5-2-2003)
- BACE, Raines and the Special Olympics: Look for an extra man atop the box this weekend in the BACE Motorsports Winston Cup pit as Special Olympics athlete and ambassador, Paul Marretti serves as honorary crew chief for NASCAR Winston Cup driver Tony Raines. The #74 BACE Motorsports Chevy will carry the Special Olympics Virginia logo on its hood when Raines makes his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series start at Richmond. Marretti, a member of the Special Olympics Virginia Board of Directors as an athlete representative, is presently serving a two-year term as a Sargent Shriver Global Messenger. In this position, he has traveled to Canada, Peru and many US cities representing the interests of Special Olympics athletes. Marretti, 27, will tour Ireland in June as part of the Special Olympics World Games. He began as a basketball player and soon expanded to other sports, including bowling, tennis, soccer, skiing, softball, track, golf and swimming. Joining Marretti at RIR this weekend will be Special Olympics Virginia President, Rick Jeffrey.(Tony Raines site)(5-2-2003)
- Craven is the First Quarter NASCAR USG Person of the Year: Despite temperatures in the single digits back on January 25, well over 500 winter weather enthusiasts joined NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Ricky Craven in his home state of Maine to participate in the sixth annual Ricky Craven Charity Snowmobile Ride. The event totaled nearly $200,000 in contributions that were targeted to numerous charities, the most money raised in the history of the ride. For his efforts in staging the event and generating significant charitable funds, Craven has been named the 2003 First Quarter NASCAR USG Person of the Year. USG, the Official Building Products Supplier of NASCAR, is in its first year as sponsor of the NASCAR USG Person of the Year program. The award is designed to honor drivers, not only for their accomplishments on the track, but for their community service contributions and charitable efforts. For the purpose of determining the NASCAR USG Person of the Year Award winner, the NASCAR Winston Cup season has been divided into four quarters in which drivers are nominated for their off-track efforts. A select group of panelists will select one of the four quarterly finalists as the NASCAR USG Person of the Year. This award will be presented the week of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Awards Ceremony in New York City, along with a prize of $100,000. The prize will be divided evenly between the driver and the charity of his/her choice. In addition to the NASCAR USG Person of the Year, USG also sponsors the Driver of the Race Award, which goes to the eligible driver who wins each of the 36 NASCAR Winston Cup championship events. Each USG Driver of the Race Award winner receives $2,500 with an additional $2,500 going to the charity of his/her choice.(NASCAR PR), this used to be the True Value Person of the Year.(5-2-2003)
- Special Scheme for Busch at RIR: #97-Kurt Busch will don the yellow and black colors of Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Brute instead of the regular red and silver colors of the Rubbermaid Ford. Last year in Charlotte’s fall race, he finished 12th in a special Rubbermaid Commercial Products paint scheme. “Our entire team has shown that we are tough,” said Busch, currently fourth in the championship standings and coming off a victory at California Speedway last Sunday. “We went through a streak of races with some bad luck, but came back in style last week. I think we showed that just like Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Brute, my team is tough and durable! Maybe we can get yet another special paint scheme in victory lane.” The Brute brand, which features Brute Totes and Brute Containers, is known for its toughness and durability allowing consumers to work smarter and handle without care. Rubbermaid Commercial Products will begin a national advertising campaign focused on its Brute brand on May 12. Television advertising will be seen during NASCAR races as well as on other network and cable shows. For more information on Rubbermaid Commercial Products, go to www.rubbermaidcommercial.com.(5-2-2003)
- Hornish to the #1? haven’t heard this one since last year….Autoracing1.com (need subscription to view/read) is reporting….Hornish to replace Steve Park: Pennzoil sponsors both Sam Hornish (IRL) and Steve Park (NASCAR). Rumors are rampant that Steve Park will lose his ride at DEI, possibly before the season is over. Sam Hornish is now rumored to be taking his place. Giving more weight to the rumor that Park is on his way out is the blatant berating he gave to the media after winning the pole last weekend at Fontana, then going out and crashing on the very first lap, taking Ryan Newman with him. Talk about making a complete and utter fool out of oneself.(Autoracing1.com -need subscription to view/read)(5-2-2003)
- Been Asked many times: What ever happened to the ‘Hat Man’ who used to great the winning drivers in the winners circle? (answer on my NASCAR Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)), the answer WAS: Well from what I hear, after Bill ‘The Hat Man’ Broderick was released of his duties when Tosco bought out Unocal he bought a restaurant or tavern in the Chicago area(6-16-1999) — UPDATE 1: some more tidbits, Broderick is the owner of a tavern near the Fox River in Algonquin, Illinois, in the Northwest Chicago suburbs, that he actually has owned for some time(6-17-1999)
UPDATE 2: Broderick was interviewed by Claire B. Lang on XM Satellite- NASCAR Radio (Subscription Required) and is now working with the Busch Series team #27 of Brewco Motorsports and driver Joey Clanton and sponsor TrimSpa.(5-2-2003) - Final California TV Ratings: Nielsen Media Research figures show Fox’s broadcast of the Auto Club 500 from California Speedway was the most-watched sports program last weekend with 8.3 million viewers, according to today’s Sports Business Daily. Final figures show the race drew a 5.3 rating and 13 share to top the 4.9/12 ABC drew for the NBA’s Timberwolves-Lakers playoff game. The final figures represent a virtual reversal of the overnight results that had shown the race drawing a 4.9/11 and the game drawing a 5.3/12 from the nation’s largest markets. Despite the small-market boost, the race still fell short of the 5.9/13 it drew last year. The Daily says that so far this season the Fox results are down 3 percent from 2002 with an average of 6.0/14 this year versus a 6.2/15 last season.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(5-2-2003)
- Harvick wins at Richmond: #21-Kevin Harvick won under caution in Friday night’s Hardee’s 250 at Richmond International Raceway. It’s Harvick’s 10th career NASCAR Busch Series victory and second in his past three races. Harvick has finished in the top 10 in each of his six series starts this season, including five top-fives. #10-Scott Riggs was 2nd, #33-Tony Raines finished third, pole winner #99-Michael Waltrip was fourth and #23-Scott Wimmer completed the top five. #92-Todd Bodine, who finished 29th, continues to lead the series points. The race was slowed 14 times by caution for 93 laps. There were 10 lead changes among eight drivers.(ThatsRacin.com)
For results, see ThatsRacin.com, BGNRacing.com, MotorsportsOne or NASCAR.com.(5-2-2003) - Waltrip wins pole at Richmond: #99-Michael Waltrip won the pole at Richmond got Friday night’s Hardee’s 250 with a speed of 125.523mph (7:30pm/et, FX). It is Waltrip’s fifth pole at Richmond and first of the 2003 season. #57-Jason Keller will start second, followed by #59-Stacy Compton, #48-Shane Hmiel, and #2-Ron Hornaday. New Jersey’s #81-Martin Truex will start 6th in Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Chance 2 car. Drivers had to wait through a more than 3½-hour delay because of moisture seepage coming up through the track. The first two drivers who tried to qualify – Jason Rudd and Dion Ciccarelli – both wrecked. Track officials then discovered water seeping through cracks in the track. After trying to get the water drained off by cutting grooves into the track, NASCAR made the decision to resume qualifying at approximately 8:00pm/et. Some drivers still complained about the track’s condition. “Some drivers said there were wet spots. We made the decision to go ahead and qualify based on talking to many of the drivers,” said NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter. “We felt it was OK.” The biggest problem areas were in entrance to Turn 1 and the exit to Turn 2. Hunter said heavy rain Wednesday night contributed to the problem and said NASCAR would monitor the situation overnight.(ThatsRacin.com)
Kind of a shame what happend to #84-Dion Ciccarelli and #01-Jason Rudd who crashed their cars when water seepage on the track caused them to wreck their cars and miss the race.
See qualifying results/lineup at ThatsRacin.com, BGNRacing.com or NASCAR.com.(5-2-2003)
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